THE DAILY WHIP: FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

House Meets At:

First Vote Predicted:

Last Vote Predicted:

9:00 a.m.: Legislative Business

Five “One Minutes”

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Complete Consideration of H.R. 2842 – Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act (Rep. Curbelo – Ways and Means)(One Hour of Debate). This bill authorizes $100 million in existing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Contingency Funds for FY 2018 to help subsidize a demonstration program for TANF recipients to transition into employment and career programs. President Obama included similar proposals in his budgets in order to ensure that low income parents find and maintain quality jobs that will help them to transition out of poverty.

While H.R. 2842 is good, sensible legislation aimed at helping our country’s most economically vulnerable families, it is important that Members of Congress recognize other issues that the TANF program faces. TANF faces issues of state diversion of the block grants and budget proposals that either flat fund the program or cut funding completely. Most recently, President Trump’s budget proposal zeros out the TANF Contingency Fund which would have devastating impacts on some of our nation’s must vulnerable.

TANF helps families achieve self-sufficiency and stability, both financially and emotionally through the promotion of job and relationship preparation and formation and maintenance of two-parent families. These essential services should be supported by our government as they help people to cultivate skills and create a culture of self-sufficiency, not constantly face the chopping block when it comes to budgeting.

The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, makes in order 7 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The amendments are:

Rep. Foxx Amendment. Encourages better coordination with state workforce development efforts and adds to the reporting requirements in Section 5 to describe efforts by the State to ensure nondisplacement and establish grievance procedures.Rep. Bost Amendment. Ensures that states include in their applications how they will use the funds to help individuals who have been displaced or relocated from a public housing authority to an alternative public housing facility or placed on rental assistance.Rep. Bonamici/Davis (CA) Amendment. Requires states to coordinate the subsidized employment program authorized in the bill with other federal workforce development programs, including the Federal Work Study Program.Rep. Krishnamoorthi Amendment. Requires states to report on the number of individuals who are in a career that matches their training.Rep. Davidson Amendment. Directs states to include in their end of the fiscal year report the number of recipients who received additional federal or state means tested benefits during their subsidized employment.Rep. Khanna Amendment. Directs Health and Human Services to measure the effect of training and credentialing in its evaluation to the public and recommendations to Congress.Rep. Kilmer Amendment. Requires the Secretary to address employment-related challenges in rural areas and among members of federally recognized Indian tribes in the recommendations provided to Congress.

“The math isn't there yet for Mitch McConnell [R-KY]. Within hours of the Senate majority leader unveiling a long-anticipated health care bill on Thursday, four of his Republican colleagues were quick to put a damper on things: ‘We are not ready to vote for this bill,’ the group said in a joint statement… For weeks, McConnell's colleagues have publicly criticized his decision to write the bill behind closed doors. On Thursday, lawmakers reiterated those concerns, wondering out loud whether one week was enough to properly debate the contents of a bill aimed at overhauling the current health care system. ‘It's going to be very difficult because it is a complex bill and there are a lot of differing points of view on it too, which is the real problem,’ GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch told CNN.”